Never let a chance go by...

Descending into Kenepuru Sound in smooth fine conditions I was pleased to have been able to show the beauty of this area of NZ in such amazingly clear conditions. We are both adventurers of the outdoors but I have never seen Picton looking so clear and picturesque.

Into the circuit at Nopera after sending Mike a "10 minutes to run" text from abeam Furneaux Lodge, I discovered that the low altitude prevented my SAR cancellation, so at the suggestion of a fellow aviator in the area I climbed back up over Portage and managed to arrange an extension to SARTIME with Wellington Control.

Mike was there to meet us with no sheep this morning to delay our transition to ground operations and we taxied up to the tie downs that Mike pointed out in the lee of the row of trees. Hopewell Lodge (Marlborough Region, New Zealand) - Lodge Reviews - TripAdvisor A busy day at the lodge so no time wasted in jumping aboard Mike's ute and away to Hopewell Lodge for a coffee. We organised to have a short walk of about an hour, along the coastal track next to the lodge, before lunch. Mike needed to collect supplies from Havelock later on and suggested we could go along for the ride. What a glorious way to explore the Sounds. Andrew and I explored the beauty of Hopewell Lodge and environs and we were both very taken with the peaceful, serene magic that has been captured by this location. It couldn't have been a more perfect day to absorb it all.

Boat launched and quietly motored around to the pier by the spa pool at the Lodge, we sat among the hammocks hung under the trees for guest relaxation and thought of wonderful adventures here, yet to be enjoyed. Before we had our sandwiches out of out day bags Mike was ready to roll for Havelock. Climbing aboard his runabout, I settled in below to eat my prepared lunch as we motored off into the Kenepuru Sound, enroute to Havelock while  Andrew remained above deck checking out his stopping off points of his kayaking adventures along the waterways of the sounds.

Passing the Sounds water traffic along the way made me aware that this was a work area as well as a play area. Logging trade was obvious as we overtook a punt loaded with a recent felling from the surrounding hills beside us and a couple of sounds excursions tourist boats along with one or two holiday explorer craft.

Reaching Havelock, we tied up and refuelled Mike's runabout and then took off for the supermarche, for replenishment of the Lodge supplies.  eminded me of how New Zealand was opened up in earlier years, yet it was still going on here on the Sounds. A casual Fly in planned next week for anyone with spare time, fine weather and would like a little adventure...in the air! 25th onwards if weather suitable....strip dimensions approx 600 meters one way up hill... call Mike 03 573 4341 for weather on your day

Conversation with a visiting Englishman who was in the area visiting his brother, allowed me to view the village from a different perspective... That of a tourist from offshore rather than a resident of Wellington, across Cook Strait...lovely stuff this adventuring because it allows us to look at every situation in different ways without the 'clock' interfering with how we interpret the world.

Supplies purchased and ice creams in hand, it was back to the wharf beside the fish factory, to climb back aboard the runabout and head back to Hopewell. A stop along the way to gather mussels showed us how these are grown in the sounds. Quite different to the rock harvesting I have done in the past with Greg on Great Barrier Island, at Medlands Beach. Redeposited ashore at Hopewell, Mike was ready to prepare for the evening meal so Andrew and I had a quiet coffee then gathered our backpacks and with a final farewell and 'thanks for a wonderful day out' set off on our few kilometres walk back to the strip, with a bag of freshly harvested mussels to take back to Wellington.

A fantastic day out

What a fantastic day out and fine weather to enjoy the whole day with temperatures just right for walking. In no time the strip came into view and we arrived back at the aircraft via a walk up the airstrip checking the distance for operations should anyone need it. The wind had changed during the day and was now showing a quartering tailwind for takeoff. Due to this coming over the hills to the north of the field, I decided that it would be prudent to have a quick circuit to determine how this wind would affect takeoff for Martinborough.

My prudence was rewarded with the discovery of a negative windshear of about 10kts just after getting airborne. With two on board this may be something that could affect our climb out across the ridge to the south of the strip threshold.....a short circuit and back on the ground again allowed me to access that it was acceptable to fly us both out of Nopera with the prevailing conditions, so we loaded ourselves aboard and set off.

We encountered the same conditions during takeoff again but it was still within acceptable limits so we departed comfortably from Nopera yet we were made aware of the inherent performance issues when operating on these type of airstrips. Away in smooth air across the sounds, the views were as magnificent as those we had experienced on arrival earlier in the day. Tracking home below controlled airspace this time gave us a
more intimate relationship with The Brothers, sea, sky and coast and allowed us to reflect on our days adventure.